When Do the NBA Playoffs Start? Key Dates For NBA Playoff Schedule

The 2023 NBA Playoffs are set to begin on April 15. Then it's about a month sprint until the NBA Finals tip-off and the NBA offseason will be here before you know it. Here are the expanded details.

NBA Play-In Tournament 2023 Dates

This year's play-in tournament, which is not technically part of the NBA Playoffs, will run from April 11 to April 14 as the 7-10 seeds in each conference play for a chance to take on the top seeds in both conferences. There's a chance we could see LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers meet Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Those two teams met in the first play-in tournament in 2021 and immediately made the event seem as important as the league wanted it to be.

In 2022 Patrick Beverley and the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrated making the playoffs and the Inside the NBA crew quickly roasted them for caring about something the league really wanted people to care about. It is still unclear whether the fans are supposed to care.

2023 NBA Playoffs Start Date

The actual 2023 NBA Playoffs will begin the day after the play-in tournament ends, April 15.

2023 NBA Conference Semifinals Start Date

The 2023 NBA Conference Finals will start on May 1 and May 2.

2023 NBA Conference Finals Start Date

Depending on how the semifinals go, the Conference Finals could begin as early as May 14 and as late as May 16. It's a big difference so only make tentative plans for the 14 and 15.

2023 NBA Finals Schedule

The '23 NBA Finals start on June 1 and will span 18 days if the series goes a full seven games. Teams will get two days off between each game except for Games 3 and 4.

Game 1: June 1st
Game 2: June 4th
Game 3: June 7th
Game 4: June 9th
Game 5: June 12th (if necessary)
Game 6: June 15th (if necessary)
Game 7: June 18th (if necessary)